Cuddle
by Dancingqueen4Life
Summary: Kate wakes up when her daughter starts crying. Of course, Kate and Rick's daughter only wakes up at night when she wants to cuddle. The only problem is, Kate has work in the morning. It seems like another sleepless night, until Rick gets an idea. Slight AU. Please read and review!


**So this popped itself into my head, and I decided to just go with it. Hope you all enjoy.  
I don't own anything. If I did, we wouldn't have been left wondering what the hell Kate was going to say. Not that I'm bitter or anything.**

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Kate was sleeping peacefully when a cry cut through the pleasant fog and ripped her from her dream. Her eyes snapped open and a quick glance at the clock told her it was just after midnight. She turned her head slightly and saw Rick lying by her side, his face smooth and almost child-like as he slept on.

With a small sigh, Kate pulled herself from the bed and carefully made her way into the room next door. Sure enough, 8-month-old Sophia was standing in her crib, her face red and tears streaming down her cheeks from her blue eyes- so eerily similar to Rick's eyes.

"Hey now, little girl." Kate said softly. "What's got you in a funk, huh?"

Sophia raised her arms and made grabby hands at Kate, who managed to grab the baby under her arms before she toppled over.

"Come on, Soph, let's go sit for a while." Kate said as she kissed her daughter's temple. "I see you're getting better at standing though." She added with a proud smile.

Sophia made a few more whimpers before she quieted down and rested her head on Kate's shoulder as Kate lowered herself into the rocking chair.

"I see how it is. You just wanted to cuddle." Kate murmured with a fond smile.

Sophia really was a good baby. She was happy most of the time, and cried only every so often. Her only downfall, if it could even be called that, was that she was a cuddler. She would often wake up and cry until one of her parents came in and held her. As soon as she was in their arms though, she either fell asleep right away, or she returned to her normal happy self.

Kate was lost in thought and completely missed the noises as Rick wandered down the hall and stopped at the door. It wasn't until she heard him yawn that her head snapped up and she made eye contact with her sleepy husband, who was using the doorframe as a pillow more than anything else.

"Hey." She whispered softly, her fingers continuing their soothing path along Sophia's back.

"Hey." Rick returned, his voice thick with sleep. "Everything ok?" He asked, gesturing to the now sleeping infant.

"Everything's great. She just needed a hug." Kate replied with a smile.

"She does like cuddling." Rick agreed as he moved further into the room.

"I can't imagine where she gets that from." Kate teased as Rick kissed her cheek.

"Neither can I." Rick said solemnly even as his eyes sparkled.

"It's not like you cuddle at every available opportunity." Kate said with a playful smirk.

"True. But it's only with you. And Soph." Rick said as he gently kissed his daughter's head.

Kate rolled her eyes but didn't comment. The pair of them fell into silence as Sophia continued sleeping, one of her hands clenched tightly in Kate's shirt while the other was resting by her face, obscuring it slightly.  
Eventually, Rick spoke. "You want me to hold her?"

"No, it's fine." Kate said with a smile.

"Right. I was just asking 'cause I know you have to be in early, and I didn't want you to miss out on sleep..."

"Rick." Kate laughed lightly. "It's fine. I don't mind sitting here and holding her."

Rick laughed along with Kate. "Sorry."

"It's fine, Rick. You get weird when you're tired." Kate said, and Rick would have been offended if he didn't know it was true, and if he didn't see her smile which told him she was just having fun at his expense.

"Besides. If I put her down now, she'll just wake up and we'll have to start the whole process over again." Kate murmured.

Rick stood suddenly, and held his hand out to Kate. "Come on." He said when she just looked at him.

Kate didn't say anything, but her raised eyebrow said everything she was thinking.

"We're going back to bed." Rick said plainly.

Kate sighed. "Rick," she said, "baby." She gestured to Sophia, "sleeping."

Rick rolled his eyes, a habit he'd picked up from Kate not long after she'd moved in. "I see that."

"Which means I can't go to bed."

"I have a plan. Just come with me. Please."

Kate looked at him for another moment before taking the hand he'd offered and following him from Sophia's bedroom and back into their own.

"Stay there." Rick said as he went over to the bed and began moving pillows and blankets around on their bed. When he finished, he gestured for Kate to come stand next to him.

"Me." He said pointing to his side of the bed. "You." He said as he pointed to her side. "Sophia." He said, pointing to the space in between. He had made something of a nest in-between where the two of them would be, and Kate couldn't deny that it was cute.

"Rick. I appreciate it, you know I do. But I wouldn't be able to sleep like that. What if something happened?" Kate asked, uncertainty in her voice.

"Kate." Rick said as he turned to face her, a small smile playing on his lips. "Neither one of us moves when we sleep. We could fall asleep with our bodies horizontal, and we'd wake up in the same position."

Kate sighed and nodded her head, he had a point. "Alright." She finally acquiesced. Besides, she was tired.

Kate carefully got into bed and set Sophia next to her, still keeping the baby close since she hadn't let go of Kate's shirt. Rick got in on his side and pulled the covers up over all of them, making sure that Sophia's head was well above the covers.

He leaned across the bed and kissed Kate on the lips, perhaps not quite as chastely as he should have, considering there was a baby between them. When he pulled away finally, they were both a little short of breath, and Kate couldn't help but smile. Rick gently laid his large hand on Sophia's stomach and placed a sweet kiss to the top of her head before lying down and closing his eyes.

"Rick?" Kate whispered.

"Hmm?"

"This is not going to be a regular occurrence. I don't need our daughter sleeping in our bed all the time."

"Mm'kay." Rick murmured, already on the brink of sleep.

"I'm serious. This won't happen except for rare occurrences, ok?"

"Kate?" Rick finally said.

"What?"

"Go to sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Kate chuckled to herself. "Fine. I love you." She said softly.

"Luff you too." Rick slurred, and Kate knew he was already asleep.

Kate rolled slightly so that she was facing her daughter. She carefully used her index finger to trace her daughter's cheekbones, so like Kate's own. With one last smile, she kissed Sophia on the nose before laying her hand over Rick's and lacing their fingers together over their daughter's stomach.

"Goodnight, my precious little girl. I love you so much." Kate whispered before allowing her eyes to drift closed and allowing her mind to slip into unconsciousness, as a smile crossed her face with one last thought of her perfect little family.

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**Well, there you have it. I was rewatching some episodes on my computer, and this snuck its way into my head, so I wrote it. Hope you all enjoyed it.  
Reviews are wonderful. You should write one. :)**


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